I Remember Me
by Velosaurus
Summary: A retelling of Awakening's first segment, but with a few key changes. What if Emmeryn, Chrom, and Lissa's warlike father still reigned as Exalt? What if Chrom and Gangrel were allies once? What if the Shepherds who found an amnesiac Robin in a field were meeting him for the second time?
1. The Reawakening

The sun had just come up over the mountains as it began its trek across the heavens, and its radiant light illuminated the deep verdant green in seemingly endless fields of rolling grass. Birds chirped excitedly overhead, fluttering to and from the occasional trees dotting the landscape as they spoke to each other through chirps and their physical language of aerial maneuvers and displays. The soft sound of rustling grass could occasionally be heard along with bird songs as gentle breezes caressed the plains, but otherwise the running water of a gentle, babbling brook provided a soothing white noise for the area. The banks of the stream teemed with butterflies, dragonflies, and other inoffensive non-biting insects that, along with the silvery minnows that darted through the water itself, contributed to the natural serenity. It was a calming sight, and Princess Lissa felt that pleasant feeling grow as she slipped off her brown leather boots and dipped her bare feet into the water. A relaxed smile formed as she sat down at the stream's edge, giving a pleasant sigh that soon became a giggle as she absentmindedly started skipping small pebbles across the surface. How nice it was to experience so tranquil a morning.

They were becoming a rare commodity.

Lissa tried to enjoy the moment for what it was, but she couldn't avoid dwelling on the dread tugging at the back of her head. The knowledge that the serenity would inevitably come to an end, and that it could be days before she would get another chance to truly unwind. The princess was the youngest member of the Ylissean royal family, and she spent the majority of her life without most of the stress and responsibility her two elder siblings were burdened with. That said, she was still technically a representative of the Halidom's dynasty, and in difficult times she had to serve as an example to the Ylissean people. As Lissa couldn't help but think now, there weren't times much worse than these. The Ylisseans were currently locked in their third year of pan-continental war with their westernly neighbor of Plegia.

They were losing.

Month by month the Plegians had expanded eastward, and now half the country looked up to see their predominantly purple war banners flying triumphantly overhead. The Ylisseans had only managed to hold on to the other half through an elaborate defensive line, and this could only be maintained through constant scouting and patrolling. Plegian raids and infiltration units were common, sometimes daily, and every probing attack had to be found and responded to quickly. Lissa was no stranger to this, not after almost a third of a decade, and she knew full well how serious it all was.

Still, the war wouldn't fall apart if she took just a little break, would it? Surely, _surely _she could have a moment to pretend, if _just_ for a moment, that the world was as peaceful as this little stream.

The young princess snapped back to reality at the sound of an approaching horse, her mind immediately thinking of a particular knight. He was a loyal and protective knight, granted, but also a very overbearing one. Lissa was almost sure she'd soon hear his stern voice, admonishing her on how taking a moment to rest was somehow dangerous, but the words that came next belonged to a woman. "Taking a quick break, Lissa?"

The princess smiled as the Pegasus Knight Sumia climbed off her winged mount. She'd been scouting the area from the sky for awhile, and her expression now suggested she desired a break of her own. "I couldn't help it. It's so relaxing here."

"Well I think you've got the right idea." Sumia stepped forward, taking in the moment. "No sign of Plegian forces. This area is clear."

"Let's hope things around here stay quiet. I'd hate to see this place touched by the war."

Sumia looked down to her. "You looked relieved to see me just then. Were you expecting trouble?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." Lissa giggled. "To be honest, I thought you were Frederick coming to kill my fun."

"Good thing she's not, huh?" Said Vaike, a big man with a big axe and a bigger ego. "Old Freddy-boy always finds something to lecture us over."

"Come on." Sumia spoke up, though she couldn't help but smile slightly in agreement. "He's not _that _bad."

"Teach has been around him long enough to know. If he were here, he'd say something like… like…" Vaike deepened his voice somewhat. "You shouldn't stand right next to that brook, milady. T'would not be good to fall in."

Lissa laughed and played along, falling to the ground in an exaggerated manner. "Oh no, Sir Frederick! I've fallen! Please come to my aid, oh gallant Sir Frederick!"

"No! Gods no! Not Lady Lissa!" Vaike fell to her side, struggling to keep a straight face. "If only you drank your tea with pinky fingers extended, milady. T'would have given you the strength to avoid such a fall. Oh, if only you would heed my constant nagging!"

Lissa gave a fake cough, her giggling almost ruining it. "It looks like… this is it. I'm sorry, Frederick. Tell the people of Ylisse… they'll have to make do with Chrom even though… he's not... as cool as I am."

"No, milady! Don't go into the light!" Vaike looked skyward. "If only I had nagged her more often!"

Sumia couldn't help but grin, though it faded as she heard an armored figure approaching. "Stop it, you guys. What if Frederick were here… to see… he's behind me, isn't he?"

"No, no. Please continue." The knight the conversation had centered around said as he crossed his arms, his voice completely dry. "Such biting wit you two are possessed of."

Vaike was visibly startled same as Lissa, but he quickly laughed it off. "Ah, we were just having a bit of fun, Frederick. You may dress like a big metal pole, but that doesn't mean you gotta have one shoved up your—"

Lissa cut him off with a nervous laugh. "I think what Vaike here is trying to say is that there's nothing to be worried about. We haven't seen any signs of enemy activity all morning, and Sumia didn't see anything from the sky."

The Pegasus Knight nodded as she turned back to Frederick. "All clear, sir."

"See? Everything's fine. We can take a moment to rest."

The knight retained his unfeeling expression. "Do not allow yourselves to be distracted. A single moment's lost concentration is all it takes for the enemy to get the drop on you."

"Teach knows that." Vaike huffed. "I'm hardly a rookie anymore, Captain Buzzkil."

"We are wasting time here. T'is not even noon, and we have plenty more ground to cover."

Lissa took a moment to think about how best to argue in relaxation's favor. "I know we'll have to get back to scouting soon, Frederick, but everything's fine for now. Plegian infiltration teams have a knack for sneaking through our defensive line, sure, but they're not, like, ghosts or whatever. They can't just appear out of nowhere. Our fortifications do catch them every once in awhile. We've proven this area is quiet, and quiet days like this are rare. There's nothing wrong with enjoying them while we can." Lissa extended her arms, complementing the gesture with a big grin. "I mean, look around. Blue sky. Green grass. A perfect breeze. Even you have to admit this is a great day, and the war doesn't give us many of those."

Sumia cleared her throat. "And, uh, Captain Phila always did say resting was important. We need to keep our stamina up."

Frederick eyed her. "And is this really what she had in mind when she said that?"

"Y-Yeah. Definitely, yeah."

Frederick still flashed a look of disagreement, but he knew he couldn't actually order Lissa to get back at it. It wasn't long ago that he could, but much had changed.

Though a princess from the moment of her birth, meaning Frederick was technically sworn to serve her same as the rest of the royal family, Lissa hadn't known her current responsibilities very long. It wasn't so long ago that she'd lived a rather carefree life. She had only worn dresses. Had carried only a healing stave. Had to beg Frederick and her elder brother to let her come with them on missions. Now her attire was intertwined with occasional steel plating. Now she carried that same healing stave alongside offensive magical tomes and an imposing bolt axe. Now she regularly worked with Frederick and her brother in Ylisse's defense. The war caused her to mature into a leader in her own right over the past three years.

Forced her to, really.

But war cleric Lissa was still Lissa. She still had her cheery temperament, and she was still quick to lighten a difficult workload if she could. "Learn to relax a little, Frederick. No one's saying we should start singing by a campfire. This is just a quick moment to… regroup."

Lissa's point was helped by the return of two Pegasus Knights under Sumia's direction. Her, Lissa, Vaike, and Frederick weren't alone, as four people did not a patrol make. Sumia was experienced enough now to lead a few young Pegasus Knight recruits, and even Vaike had a small number of warriors not so unlike him under his care. Lissa lead this combined force and shared responsibility for the mission with Frederick, himself leading a group of knights that were surely patrolling somewhere else. All in all, it was a force large enough to cover a decent chunk of territory, and it was certainly large enough to keep functioning if a few members took a short break to enjoy the peace. "Sumia." One of the teenaged fliers reported. "We've finished our patrols. Everything's clear."

"Very good." Sumia walked to the edge of the brook herself, taking a whiff of the cool, late summer air. "It's like we said, Sir Frederick. Nothing to worry about. The worst thing that could happen here would be falling into the streaaaaaggh!"

Sumia tried to turn to the small waterway as she spoke, but her boot didn't quite follow her body, and she almost ended up fulfilling her own prophecy. She was saved from the inconvenience of shin deep water as Vaike darted forth to catch her. "Easy there, Sumia! You almost got a faceful of muck."

"Woah. Thanks."

"I'll say." Lissa added. "How'd you of all people move so quickly?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Vaike held Sumia steady as she kicked her boot back into place. "To be honest, the Vaike kinda saw that coming. You started talking about someone tripping near the stream, and what with you being… well… you…"

Everyone not named Frederick laughed, with even Sumia chuckling somewhat as the embarrassment faded. The moment failed to move the knight. He wouldn't even uncross his arms. "We can glean the future from fate tempting comments, can we? Surely one of you could be so kind as to peer into time and prove to me that Plegian raiders aren't mobilizing while we idly stand around admiring the scenery. Need I remind you all this peace only exists because we constantly strive to protect it?"

"And what's the point of defending the peace if we don't appreciate it?" Lissa smirked. "Come on, Frederick. You know you want to relax. You do know _how _to relax, don't you?"

"I'm familiar with the concept, but it's not something I personally partake it."

"Oh you act all stern and strict, but I can tell you like it here. You're using the friendlier of your two expressions."

"I beg your pardon, milady. My two expressions?"

"Your grumpy face, and your _angry_-grumpy face."

Lissa and her companions again laughed at Frederick's expense, and though he rolled his eyes and brushed it off, he couldn't help but scan the area as he turned. He wouldn't deny it came together in an idyllic scene, and the knight was reminded of the beauty in the land he was helping to protect. "Well… I suppose a bit of rest might do us some good," He looked Lissa right in the eye as he turned. "So long as we return to our mission shortly. The situation can change in an instant."

"Please, Frederick. Plegians can't just come out of nowhere." Lissa returned to her moment of bliss. Watched the sunlight scatter across the water. Felt the grass between her weary toes. Took in the cool air. "Maybe this is a little silly to say, but I just feel that… that nothing could ruin this moment."

It was but a few instants later that Frederick, Sumia, Vaike, and Lissa would be dragged into what would go down as a history defining moment. It began with a deafening crack, and as the light in the area inexplicably turned shades of violet, everyone glanced back to see a rift in the very fabric of reality suddenly force itself into spacetime. This anomaly hung about a meter above the ground like something out of an abstract painting, the rift itself shimmering against the backdrop of the mountains and the rising sun like a jewel and radiating dozens of variations of purple.

The event had the complete attention of everyone present. The Ylisseans had seen battles across innumerable territories and beheld countless events on a continental scale in the three years since the peace with Plegia collapsed, but now they could do little but fall silent in wonder. For Vaike, Sumia, and the others in the force, this silence was born from confusion.

But this wasn't actually the first time Frederick and Lissa had seen something flaunt the laws of physics so. The confusion in them was great, but greater still was their awe—an awe that provided kindling of hope in a place in their hearts where hope had long since guttered. They had both seen a portal much like this one before, and the sight brought to mind the events of that day.

"Oh." Lissa gulped. "Talk about fate-tempting comments."

"Milady," Frederick spoke up, his stoic voice faltering with honest shock. "Do you recognize this kind of magic? Do you remember when we saw a larger portal like this?"

"I do, Frederick. Before the war. It was the night we met Marth, and that was on the same day we met…"

The rift captured everyone's focus again as it began to violently flash, purple lightning arcing out of it and carving streaks of flame into the grass. An object emerged just as the spacetime spasming reached the apex of its severity, and as the portal began to shrink after that, the Ylisseans turned and discovered it had been a covered wagon of all things. It initially materialized above ground same as the portal, causing the two draught horses in front to cry out from an uncomfortable landing, but they soon recovered and pulled the vehicle along as their panicked galloping resumed. The wagon was across the plain before anyone could bring themselves to speak.

"Uh… Teach has a question. The hell?!"

"There _was_ someone coming out of it!" Lissa exclaimed. "Just like the one Marth popped out of three years ago! Except smaller, and… lightning-ier. This could be another one of his portal jumping allies! A latecomer, maybe?"

Frederick eyed the wagon even as it streaked into the distance, leaving a trail in the rolling fields of grass. "Yes… though it could also be a new Plegian infiltration tactic."

"Either way, we're following it."

Frederick was already mounting his nearby horse. "I'll mobilize my knights and sweep the area at once. I trust you'll take after it yourself?"

"On it." Lissa stood tall while Frederick galloped away, speaking firmly and audibly as she hurriedly fumbled for her boots. Even as a princess—even as someone who could theoretically take the throne one day—leadership experiences like this were completely alien to Lissa for most of her life. Conflict made her a quick study. "Sumia, we need your Pegasus Knights airborne. You've got the best chance of catching up to that thing!"

"Right!"

Sumia quickly did as instructed, tripping only once as she mounted her pegasus and followed her skyward bound recruits. Lissa then looked back to Vaike, finding him excitable but unsure of what he should actually do. "What about us, Lis? Ol' Teach doesn't like standing around in times like this… though Teach also knows he can't catch up to a speeding wagon. Learned that from experience."

"You're right. We'll just have to stay here until Sumia brings it to a stop."

The two had almost forgotten about the portal itself, and it reminded them as the lighting in the area changed again. The violet filter over the plains faded, and the two turned to see a fog stained red and black waft out of the shrinking portal, stopping only when the rift disappeared completely. The gas grew in density, building and building on itself, until it became as a smoke that defiantly refused to diffuse into the surrounding air, instead organizing into several distinct clouds that followed after the now distant wagon on their own power. These clouds somehow held together without spreading out, maneuvering and accelerating and staying independent of each other without ever merging. It was as if each had an intelligence behind it.

An innocent bystander would certainly find it strange, but Vaike and Lissa locked up in fear. They were experienced enough to know that there was a consciousness behind each cloud, and these incorporeal entities were _not_ benevolent. "V-Vaike? Do you recognize that smoke?"

Vaike had reflexively drawn his axe, and he now held it tightly for comfort. He at least managed a nervous laugh. "You know, Lissa? I think something ruined your moment."

"Me and my big mouth…"

* * *

A young man violently jolted awake as the covered wagon he found himself inside continued to barrel across the field.

_What? What's going on? Why is everything so bumpy? _

But for his snow white hair, a metal contraption on the back of his neck, and the faint purple glow emanating from somewhere around his right hand, there wasn't anything immediately eye catching about the man. He wore a light tan shirt, a baggy pair of pants, worn and cracked work boots, and nothing else. He felt a little underdressed, as if he were used to a heavier cloak, but there wasn't one to be found.

Perhaps more interesting was the interior of the wagon. It was covered, though the covering was loose and torn in places, and filled with boxes, leaving the man little room for himself. Curiously, one of the boxes was damaged, and books that he recognized as offensive magic tomes spilled out. Several boxes had a kind of wire that connected them all to a lever rigged to the side of the wagon's interior, and the man also noticed a bronze sword bouncing around nearby. He was quick to pick it up, if for no other reason than to keep the rough ride from sending it flying into him blade first.

_Where the hell am I?! Wait… _who _am I? I don't even remember my name! _

The man sat up, clinging tightly to the bench he'd been sleeping on as the bumpiness grew in severity. If he had to guess, the wagon probably wasn't hitched to the horses correctly, and something had sent them into a panic if their frantic galloping was anything to go by. The man felt a little unsettled himself, and it wasn't just from the shock of waking up in a strange place. His mind was driven by a strange impulse. An imperative to get away.

But what was he trying to get away from?

_Looks like I'm in a wagon, but why? Am I running away from something? It feels like I'm run—Eagle! My name is… Eagle?_

The man took a moment to think. He wasn't just unfamiliar with his current predicament. He wasn't even familiar with _himself. _He could _feel_ that memories were there, but he couldn't consciously bring them to mind. It was like those memories were corroded, worn out gears, and his brain was a mechanical clock that didn't function properly because it kept skipping over them. Even his name eluded him, and the man decided to take a break and figure that out as his brown eyes carefully scanned the wagon for any clues. There were none to be found, but the more he willed himself to think, the more vague sensations began to come to him.

_Wait, no. That's not right. It's on the tip of my tongue. Something like… Besra… Swift… Magpie… Raven? Rave-in… rave… rob… Robin! That's it! Look at that, I finally remembered something! _

The shaking in the wagon became more violent still, almost knocking "Robin" over.

_Well then, back to what I was doing. Am I running away? It feels… it feels like I'm trying to escape from something. Have I already escaped? _Robin looked around again, this time managing to notice a clue. He'd been looking all over the wagon, but this new hint made itself known only as he reached his arm out to move some of the boxes. Something was written on the back of his left hand. _Ooh, this might be helpful._

"Robin, you HAVEN'T escaped! They're ALL AROUND you! Pull lever! Cut horses free!"

_Huh. Ominous. Maybe my other hand as the rest of the message?_ Robin hopefully glanced over his right hand, but there wasn't anything written. Just a strange glowing purple symbol he didn't recognize, notably featuring six "eyes" that seemed to consciously stare right into him. Robin scratched at it, but it appeared to be in his very skin. _No, that didn't help one bit. _

Robin looked back to the lever and again noted it connected to all the boxes. _I'm supposed to do what now—ooh! Now I recognize that thing! It activates the wagon's failsafe! Alright, my memories are coming back! _Robin's smile faded as he stared. _Wait… what was the failsafe? _

A sudden rocking of the wagon caught his attention, as it was too violent to be from a simple bump. Something had latched onto it, and Robin braced himself as a shadow climbed from the back and made its way atop the covering. A steel axe was forced through the fabric, followed by an arm that tore at and expanded the hole. Once it was big enough for two arms, Robin's visitor violently introduced itself by rending a sizable chunk of the covering away and standing menacingly overhead.

And really, "itself" was the best descriptor for the _thing. _Though humanoid, the entity only resembled a man at the briefest of glances. The skin was splotchy and necrotic, and dark magic seemed to emanate from the body itself. The face was covered by a strange mask, and beady red eyes didn't suggest anything human about the figure.

"Hierophant!"

Robin slowly stood up, his eyes darting between the mask and the figure's weapon. "Uh, hey there. I try not to profile, so I won't assume those glowing red eyes mean trouble. I like to see the best in people, you know?" Robin smiled and extended his hand. "My name's Robin. Are you here to help me out?"

The figure raised the axe. "HIEROPHANT!"

"Ooh, bad guy."

Robin was still too shocked to effectively process what was happening. The movements that followed were automatic. He parried his guest's axe swing and further disarmed it without even thinking, and as he did, he almost felt a familiarity with the creature.

_Or at least, _he thought to himself as he forced the bronze sword through its chest. _I think I can remember killing these things._

The entity fell apart as it collapsed lifelessly into the wagon, and its remains further deteriorated into smoke that rapidly faded away. One might say it disintegrated, but that implied trace particles remained. But for the hole in the wagon's top, there was no evidence that anything had been there.

_What was that, and what did past me do to piss it off?! _Robin felt a strange urgency to take a tome from the damaged box, and he quickly helped himself to thunder, wind, and fire spells. He then stood atop another container and poked out of the tear in the wagon covering, carefully scanning the environment as it passed him by. Even these actions were reflexive. Honed by combat experience the amnesiac didn't know he had. _Why did I pick up these books? That's right, I needed a ranged weapon… what? How is a book a weapon?! Uh… think… tomes! They're spells, of course! Wait… can I even use magic? _

Robin noticed several black and red clouds of smoke aggressively chasing after his wagon. Two of them grew denser as they approached until finally shifting into more of the humanoid pursuers, both completely identical to each other and the first. "HIEROPHANT!"

Robin was granted a brief moment to prepare as both figures had to brace themselves against the wagon upon landing, but he wasted it holding the wind tome in his left hand and extending his right arm. Part of him was confused when nothing happened, and the other part wondered _why_ he expected anything else. _Was… was I just trying to cast a spell? Why do I think I can use magic? _Robin barely managed to bring his sword up to deflect another axe swing. _Damn it! There's a part of me that clearly knows more than I do, and it won't tell the other me what's going on!_

Desperately fighting the creatures off, Robin was given enough time to crawl out of the opening and onto the top of the wagon. He didn't dare stand up, and though his pursuers also had trouble with their balance, the amnesiac could see the other clouds would catch up soon. He didn't want to be on his back and surrounded.

_More of these guys. No idea what they are, but I doubt they're here to give me a hug. Granted, I'm still getting to know me, but I've decided I'm a risk taker. _Robin glanced back to the lever. _I mean, why else would I do something like this?_

Remembering his "note", Robin hurled his apparently useless wind tome and struck the lever in the pulled position. This triggered something in the boxes still connected to it, and bright light poured from the small cracks in the wood as every tome inside was apparently primed. Robin couldn't be sure what purpose this served, but the instinctive side of him that had been co-piloting gave him a sudden desire to be elsewhere. _Anywhere _else, really.

_Alright, calm down. Let's go over the situation. My name is Robin. I just pulled a suspicious lever because a creepy message on my own hand told me to, and now the whole wagon is lighting up. Oh, and I'm also being chased by crazy smoke man monsters. Now that I've got the basics covered, I can focus on not dying. _

Out of options, and with more of the creatures materializing on the wagon, Robin obeyed the rest of his note and turned to the horses. The two were saddled, but nothing kept them fastened to the wagon besides a single rope for each of them. Robin got into a jumping position, clinging tightly to the wagon even as he felt the tarp heating up.

_So this is… crazy. Can't think of a better word for it, really. _Forcing himself to move, Robin sliced both horses free with his bronze sword. _But maybe someone has everything planned out for me. _Jumped for dear life. _Or maybe this was my idea, because that's just the unpredictable but lovable kind of guy I am. _And barely managed to cling to a horse as it veered to the side. It took every bit of strength he had to make it up the saddle. _Actually, that's less comforting._

Instinct took over again the moment Robin righted himself, and with the snap of reigns and a sharp kick from his boot, the amnesiac finally brought the tired horse to a stop as the abandoned wagon, now covered in the creatures and glowing almost as brightly as the sun itself, thundered past. A moment later it _surpassed _the sun in intensity as the tomes inside went up in a flash, rending the wagon apart in a maelstrom of wind, fire, and lightning that left debris no bigger than a human fist raining down for several seconds. The sight left Robin stunned.

Then almost boyishly excited. _Ha! Look at that! I beat the monsters, and, hey, I figured out how to ride a horse too! Things aren't so bad after all._

But with the sudden terror in that horse, Robin turned to see several straggling clouds veering direction to meet him.

_Oof. I get the feeling I'm not particularly lucky._

* * *

Sumia's two Pegasus Knight recruits had been circling overhead while Sumia went off on her own, and they were both caught off guard at the blinding flash that consumed the wagon they were supposed to monitor. Confused and unable to completely reign in their frightened mounts, both teenaged fliers met up on the plains below. "Did you see that mess?!"

"How could anyone not see it?!"

"But I noticed something else!" The first girl quickly added. "I swear I saw someone on the wagon climbing onto one of the horses. He bolted away right before the thing went up like that."

"What direction was he headed?"

"He… er…" She motioned with her hands. "So if I'm flying like this, then he went behind me like this."

"Do you expect me to know what that means?! Just tell me east or west."

"Uh… so if the sun was here… then the wagon was here…"

The second flier crossed her arms. "You can't tell east and west apart, can you?"

"I can! Like, on the ground I can. It's just that when you're in the air and you're flying all over the place—"

"Unbelievable. Imagine if Captain Cordelia could hear you now!"

"What does it matter anyway?!"

"If you could tell me where the horse was going, we'd know what direction that man was headed in!"

The two girls were too engrossed in their argument to hear the horse storming forward at full gallop, and they only got Robin's warning a moment before it was too late. "MOVE! OUT OF THE PATH!"

The two ducked to the side as he galloped past, and more of the smoke bound monstrosities rocketed after him soon after. The first recruit warily pointed towards them as her companion looked to her. "I think he's going that way."

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, Robin resumed his daring in progress escape, but he was rapidly running out of advantages. His poor horse just couldn't take much more after what it'd already been through, and the clouds were gaining. Still, Robin noted that only a finite number harried him now. _I can't outrun these things, but I know they can be outfought. Maybe this isn't the safest bet. _Robin carefully stood up in his saddle, aided by the horse's slower pace. _But it's only the second craziest decision I've made in the past five minutes._

Robin had been monitoring the creatures, and he noted their gaseous forms were purely for conveyance. They always shifted when preparing to strike at him. Praying to no deity in particular all the while, Robin leapt from his stolen steed and grappled with one of the rapidly gaining creatures right as its humanoid form began to materialize. Both were knocked to the plains, but Robin forced his foe to take the brunt of the landing, and it was out of fighting commission by the time they finally stopped rolling. A quick thrust from his bronze sword finished it off, and the amnesiac let himself smile in triumph. It lasted only as long as it took two more of them to finish deploying, and others followed soon after as they began their advance.

"HIEROPHANT!"

"This again. What does that even mean?! Can't you do anything else with those mouths of yours?!"

He didn't think the creatures could comprehend spite, so it was probably just unfortunate coincidence that one chose that moment to vomit some kind of corrosive substance he only narrowly managed to avoid. _Why'd I have to phrase it like that? Alright, it's settled. Close quarters is safer._

Robin charged back into the fray, and though he was heavily outnumbered this time, he at least had the freedom to move how he wanted. By all accounts he should have been scared, but he was surprised at how natural it all felt. He pressed the advantage his sword gave him over the axes used by the creatures without having to think about it, and a natural ability to expertly keep track of where every enemy was and what they were doing allowed him to weave out of the way of attacks and reduce their numerical advantage by striking down creatures almost as soon as they appeared. Furthermore, more of his impulses from before were taking over. With every clash of a blade, with every creature felled, Robin could feel more and more coming back. _I've been in battles like this before. Somehow I just know I have. I prefer swords, but I also have an affinity for magic. Does that even make sense. I can't use magic. Can I? _The amnesiac felt a particular sense of inspiration as he brought his blade through the chest of another entity. _I think I even have a catchphrase!_

"The scales will tip this time!" He declared triumphantly as what remained of the thing faded away. "Err… no, that doesn't sound quite right out loud."

Robin had defeated half a dozen of the creatures at this point, but at least just as many made themselves known as they roared and clanged their weapons together. He turned and forced himself to stand tall. "Hey, I just defeated at least half your friends! All on my own! What do you have to say to that?!"

"HIEROPHANT!" Several shouted back.

"Figures."

XXXXXX

One of the Pegasus Knight recruits brought her mount to a trot while scanning the plains, and her companion soon joined her as she descended to the surface. "No sign of him!"

"Huh? Didn't you see him from the air?"

"I caught up to his horse, but the man wasn't there. He must have jumped off!"

"Then where could—"

Robin answered the recruit's question as he violently came to a stop right in front of Pegasus. The hostile that had knocked him there followed up by shifting from cloud to combat form right over his head, but Robin managed the strength to block its axe before it could find his chest. "Come on! Is that… the best… you've got?!"

A lance went through the entity's abdomen, and Robin quickly righted himself to see the two recruits dismounting as its remains faded away. "There you are! Are you alright?!"

"I—*cough*—think so. Ack! A word of advice, don't breathe in after killing those things." Robin willed himself up. "Who are you two?"

"Those monsters are called Risen, and we don't have anything to do with them!"

"You know, I can actually tell you aren't undead abominations. _Who _are you?"

"We're Pegasus Knights… in training. We're here to help."

Robin's mind immediately recognized the term, but not as an organization. Memories came to him in the form of raw data. _Pegasus Knights. Highly mobile. Prefer lances. Resistant to magic. Above average speed._

He pressed down on his forehead, trying to snap back to the present. "Agh! What… what was all that information?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Robin looked back to his approaching foes, still roaring their made up title for him. "So those things, you're familiar with them?"

"Occasionally. The Risen have been showing up since just before the war started."

Now Robin had a word to assign his foes, and more of his repressed experience and knowledge resurfaced. _Risen. Necrotic. No sense of self preservation. Rely on numbers. Prefer to congregate in packs. Individual units within packs will generally display similar combat capabilities._

Robin shook himself back to the present. "I admit I could use some help, if you're still offering."

"Boy, could you." The second recruit approached Robin from behind and fingered the metal contraption on the back of his neck, which he'd honestly since forgotten about. "Looks like they got you with an equalizer."

Robin hunched over uncomfortably as the girl fiddled with it. "Who got me with a what now?"

"It's a Plegian device. It accesses your brain through your neck or something and prevents you from using magic. They slap 'em on mages they take prisoner to render them harmless. I guess we know where you've been." She gave the device a few good tugs. "Don't worry. These things aren't invasive. They're just, damn it, they're just finicky."

"So if I have one… I _can_ use magic?"

"You tell me. Why else would you… would you…" The recruit finally tore the equalizer off. "Have one?! Gah, finally."

Robin now felt a breeze on the back of his neck, but that was nothing compared to the sudden surge of raw power within him. He would have said everything was normal with the restraining device on, but this feeling was something else. Going back to how he was even just five seconds ago was an abruptly unbearable thought. "Woah." Again allowing reflexes to take over, Robin drew his thunder tome and casually aimed his right hand towards an approaching Risen. He willed a lightning bolt into snapping off his arm as casually as a swing of his sword would have been, and a second discharge had felled yet another Risen before the first even finished dissipating. "Oh ho, yes. Yes _indeed._"

"Uh, you're still taking this seriously, right?" The first recruit began to back away. "There are still more."

Robin nodded and unleashed a barrage of lightning towards the remaining Risen, but they actually displayed enough sense to shift into their gaseous states specifically to avoid the assault. Again in their smoke forms, the Risen circled around in a shark like manner, perhaps looking for a moment of weakness. Robin wasn't about to give them one.

Remembering how he'd defeated the majority of the force, Robin drew his commandeered flame tome and began to channel his still growing power to manually prime it as the wagon's "failsafe" had done. "I have no idea if this will work, but in my head it's genius!"

"That sentence doesn't make sense!"

"Nothing's been making sense! Why start now?!" Overloading the flame tome until it burned in his hand, Robin tossed it skywards and struck it will as powerful a lightning bolt as he could manage. The tome unleashed power intended to be spread out over multiple uses all at once, creating a heatwave that simply incinerated the gaseous Risen. The two Pegasus Knight recruits would have been caught up in it as well, but the newly enlightened mage shielded the three of them with a ward he projected from his hand. This too had apparently been instinctive, and Robin was left just as surprised as his new companions. "Wow. To think I wasted all that time with a sword."

The recruits looked at their would be helpless victim in awe. "You've clearly done this before! Nice moves! Who are you?!"

"_What _are you?!" The second recruit asked as she stepped forward. The two proceeded to bounce ideas off each other. "A veteran mercenary?!"

"One of the Exalt's elite warriors?!"

"A rogue Plegian infiltrator?!"

"Ex-Convocation Vanguard?!"

"An Imperial Guardsman from Valm?!"

The word came to Robin's head instantly, and it just felt right as he said it aloud. "I'm a tactician."

The first girl raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused. "Uh, how can you be a tactician if you're all by yourself?"

"... I don't know." Robin scratched the back of his neck, the excitement of the moment having passed. "My name's Hawk by the way—Robin! My name is _Robin._ Not sure why I said… I'm getting my birds confused."

The Pegasus Knights looked to each other. "Uh… having trouble with your own name?"

"Sorry, I haven't been myself lately. I'm not really sure who myself is. Huh… sentences like that sound weird out loud, don't they?"

"Wait…" The first recruit eyed him with a new suspicion. "Robin the… tactician? Is that… it can't be. I've heard of you… but you can't really be him. Can you?"

"Be who? You know a Robin?"

The second recruit also looked him over. "Prince Chrom had a tactician named Robin at the beginning of the war before he disappeared. He was supposed to be some kind of big hero. There's… there's no way you can be him. He's been gone for so long, and you're just some guy."

"Hey! I thought you were impressed with me?"

The first recruit shrugged. "I don't know. I was only thirteen when the war started, and even then I heard stories of Robin's accomplishments. They never seemed real to me. I thought they were myths Prince Chrom and the Exalt came up with."

"Oh, believe me. The stories are real. I was there." The three turned to see a third Pegasus Knight approaching. She was a young woman, several years older than the recruits, with long brown hair so faded in color it was almost silver and personalized lilac armor. Robin could tell the knight outranked the others. Her quiet and graceful landing suggested much more experience in the air, and her armor was more ornate and unique. She returned Robin's stare, but while his was analytical, the woman's own brown eyes were filled with emotion. Familiarity.

_This must be one of past Robin's friends._

"Robin." She spoke as she slowly approached, her gentle voice just above a whisper. "Chrom's legendary tactician. The drifter without a past who appeared when he was needed, like the hero from a storybook, to become a champion of Plegia and Ylisse. You two girls are lucky. You're standing in the presence of a legend."

The man in question had no idea how to feel about any of that. "Excuse me?"

"Robin…" The Pegasus Knight stepped in front of Robin and looked him up and down like she doubted her own eyes. She eventually reached for his right hand and slowly lifted it to bring his strange mark to bare. Robin thought the woman might be afraid of it, and so was taken aback when she lit up and tightly wrapped her arms around him. "It… it is you. It _is _you! You've come back to us! After all this time!" Robin stared blankly forward as the Pegasus Knight rested her hands on his shoulders and cried. "People started to think we wouldn't see you again, but I never gave up hope, Robin! I always knew you'd come back! I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier but, well, it looks like you held out okay. You always did know what to do. You can't imagine how badly we need that skill of yours in this war, and now… you're finally back."

"Y-You're crying?"

"Am I?" She wiped tears from her eyes, but her smile only grew. "Gods, I've pictured this moment so many times, but I never thought I could be this happy. Heh, I can only imagine how Chrom will feel. He's missed you so much."

"Chrom?"

She turned and smiled at something else. "And speaking of the royal family, here comes Lissa."

"Who is—"

"ROBIN!"

Lissa was apparently the young woman that had sprinted forward and practically tackled Robin in an aggressively friendly hug. She was young, closer in age to the Pegasus Knight recruits than their leader, with light blue eyes and blonde hair done up in girlish and exaggerated pigtails. It was easy to think her a prim and proper noble at a glance of her dress, but Robin could see combat had touched her too. Aside from a few military decorations, like the capelets over her shoulders and a heavily reinforced corset like piece, Lissa had golden plating over her forearms and a bolt axe slung across her back alongside a healing stave.

The princess had been running in the direction of the wagon since seeing it go up in a flash on the horizon, but Robin's horse closed most of the distance, and the sight of the wagon's passenger only helped to energize her now. She excitedly buried her head in Robin's chest as she squeezed, uncaring that her running jump hug had almost knocked him over. "YOU were in that wagon! Best surprise EVER! We were starting to think you were gone!" Lissa lightly punched him. "Don't ever do that to us again!"

Robin received a more severe punch to the shoulder. It was also meant to be playful, but again Robin almost lost balance given the size of the man it came from. Lissa's companion was a muscular fighter with brown eyes and spiky blonde hair. He had an axe, a few pieces of leather armor, and… that was about where his distinctiveness began and ended. "Where have you been, buddy?! The Vaike was really starting to miss you! Teach still needs to be taught every once in awhile, and Chrom lost his fighting edge without you around. Not nearly as much fun to spar against." Vaike's grin grew from ear to ear. "We saw that fireball thing you just did, by the way. Still that wildcard tactician. Teach always said you'd be back. Nothing can keep you down. Not Plegians. Not Risen. Not even… some third thing."

"Plegians? Risen?"

"All threats we've had to deal with in this area." Lissa grabbed Robin's hand and tried to tug him along. "But there'll be plenty of time to fill you in later. I bet you've got a heck of a lot of stories for us, huh Robin?" Lissa tried to walk forward, but he was hesitant to follow. "Like what you've been up to and how you made that daring escape from wherever it was you were. Right, Robin? Right? … Robin? Uh… is something wrong?"

"Well it, uh, it seems I'm pretty popular around here." The amnesiac tactician withdrew his hand. "But I do have one question, if you wouldn't mind."

"Sure. Anything."

Robin looked the three in the eyes. "Who are _any _of you people?"

"Ha! Good one. Pretending you don't remember us." Sumia giggled, though her soft expression slowly left her as she returned Robin's gaze. "Just like when we met you… the… first… you are pretending, right? For the love of Naga, tell us you're pretending."

A look of alarm slowly took Lissa, twisting her girlish features in worry. "This isn't funny, Robin. Knock it off. Don't make us worry like this!"

"What?!" He responded defensively. "Am I supposed to know you all?"

Sumia placed her hands over her mouth while slowly shaking her head. Her voice fell whisper quiet. "Oh no. Oh no-no-no-no-no. I… I think it's happened to him again."

"What's happened?"

Vaike was a little more blunt about it. "Yeesh. Twice in one lifetime? Talk about unlucky."

"Stop it, Vaike!" Lissa snapped. "There has to be another explanation."

"For what?!"

Robin could see denial across Lissa's face, but even then, he could also tell a part of her had already accepted. "Robin, please. Don't you remember us? I-It's me, Lissa! And Sumia, and Vaike! We're good friends, Robin, and we've all known you for a long time. I was there when we first met you!"

Sumia was quick to chime in. "You were there for me when Captain Phila died, and you helped convince Cordelia to work with Chrom when she was left in charge of the Pegasus Knights."

Vaike nodded. "And you helped the Vaike ally with Chrom when we weren't on speaking terms. We helped save a city together, man. Remember? You 'member!"

"What about Chrom, Robin?" Lissa asked, her voice filled with hope. "You even recognized Chrom the first time we met you. Surely you still remember?"

"... Who?"

Lissa and Sumia reacted as if he'd punched them in the stomach. "Oh gods. It really has happened again, and it might be worse this time."

"What?! Why do you keep saying things like that?! Has this happened to me before?!"

"It has. When we first met, you were an amnesiac drifter who could barely remember his name. We helped you get better, and we were very good friends." Lissa's lip quivered. "To see you like this again…"

Vaike shrugged. "No offense, but it's surprising how surprising this _isn't_."

"What does that even mean?"

"We always did wonder what would happen if something reset him, and he was gone a long time. Actually, the Vaike is pretty sure there were bets on this. Someone owes me money."

"Gods, Vaike!" Lissa fumed. "If we could beat Plegians with tactlessness, you'd have won the war all by yourself a year ago!"

"Thanks, Lissa!"

"That wasn't a… ugh. Alright, calm down, Lissa. Calm-down-calm-down-calm-down." Lissa took deep breaths before speaking to Robin again. Her tone was firm and slow, as if trying to convince him, but Robin could tell she was also fighting back her own distress. "Listen carefully, Robin. We know you. We were all your good friends, but you disappeared from us about three years ago."

The tactician's eyes widened. "T-Three years?!"

"Easy, Robin! Easy. There's no telling what kind of trauma has affected your mind. Take it slow. What do you remember?"

As hopeful as Robin had been, he realized now all his returning memories were combat related. He still didn't know who he really was or what he'd been doing. "Nothing. I can't consciously remember _anything_ about my past, but I have this strange feeling that I was just… out."

"Out?"

"Asleep? Unconscious? I can't really explain it. I may not be able to remember, but it just _feels _like it hasn't been that long since I was last, how do I put this, active? Has it really been three years?"

Lissa slowly nodded. "So much has changed. I was only fifteen when we first met. Now look at me."

Vaike chuckled to himself. "You're still short, squirt."

"I am _less _short, thank you very much. Anyways, it's crazy you don't remember everything you've done in the three and a half years since we first found you."

"Why?"

"Because you had such a hand in shaping the world. A lot of us are where we are today _because_ of you_. _Hold on. I think I can show you. I-I think I can fix your amnesia."

Robin flashed a puzzled look. "Really? Just like that."

Lissa began digging through a pouch she'd been carrying, pulling out several objects that appeared to have medical applications. She settled on a small cylinder. "I've been prepared for this. I was trained."

"By who?"

"By you! Believe it or not, Robin, your past self feared his amnesia could return. He, err, you helped develop magic that could access the mind itself. Thoughts. Memories. Emotions. You wanted to make it all accessible so we could help you if you ever, as Vaike so rudely put, 'reset'. You always were remarkably farsighted." Lissa flipped a switch on the device, causing several blades and spikes to extend. "And we'll do it with this."

"Uh, w-where exactly is that going?"

A small smile finally returned to Sumia's face as she looked to the princess. "Heh, I think that's the wrong tool, Lissa."

"Huh?" Lissa giggled. "Well that explains your hesitation, Robin. This one's for… nevermind what it's for." The princess pulled out another cylinder that extended into a more benign looking object. "I meant this."

"You've a lot of tools in there."

"I do, don't I? It wasn't so long ago that being a healer meant just waving a healing stave around, but…" She took a few moments to gather herself. "A lot changes in three years. The Plegians come up with new ways to kill and torture every month. Speaking of which." Lissa glanced up. "Soldier, that device in your hand there. Is that what I think it is?"

Lissa spoke to the Pegasus Knight recruit that had freed Robin of the strange contraption on his neck, and she held it up for the princess to examine. "If you think it's an equalizer, then yeah. I took it off him."

Lissa wasted no time in fiddling, inserting her other device into ridges along the back and channeling a light blue energy into it. Somehow Robin already knew what she wanted when she finished. "I'm going to put this back on you now. Okay?"

Robin didn't enjoy the thought, but he found Lissa easy to trust. "If you think it'll help."

"It won't hurt a bit." She stood behind him and again laid the restraint upon his neck. Robin must have gotten used to the weight and the various fasteners that kept it in place when he awoke in the wagon, as it was exceedingly uncomfortable and hard to ignore now. "You know, Robin, the Plegians actually based these things off the magic you helped develop. Not everything you've given to the world has been used for good."

"So it's ironic I got one? Is that it?"

"I dunno. I was just making small talk." Lissa secured the device, but Robin didn't feel any ill effects, nor did any of his power leave him. "Equalizers radiate energy into the spine that affects the whole nervous system, preventing the brain from controlling the body's natural magical affinity. It's actually fortunate that you have one though, since it also lets my spell access your brain directly." Lissa stepped in front of Robin and channeled the same icy blue magic from before through her bare hands. "Or should I say your spell. You taught it to me, Robin. Just in case something like this ever happened. Hee hee, I'm almost excited I get to try it out!"

Sumia lit up. "So you can bring his memories back?!"

"Yep."

Vaike smiled. "And he'll be our old tactician again?"

"Yep!"

Robin looked between the three. "Okay, I have a more sensible question. Have you actually _done _this before?"

"Well… no, but you developed the spell, and you never make mistakes."

"I don't know if I really trust me. I mean, I jumped between moving objects today. Twice."

"Ha, yeah right."

"I'm serious." He held up the note on his left hand. "In fact, I think I planned one of those ahead of time."

Lissa gave a childish frown. "You know what, Robin? This is gonna happen, and past you is gonna thank me for it." Lissa pressed her glowing fingers against her temple, and the equalizer on Robin's neck lit up in response. "I just have to bring him back."

* * *

Lissa was… somewhere. She could see and hear, but she found herself in a realm without space, depth, or even anything resembling tangibility. She saw her own body, but she couldn't actually feel anything. She simply _was_, almost like…

"A thought. I'm like a thought in Robin's mind." She realized. "This must be the spell. It worked!"

Lissa glanced around. She was surrounded on all sides by a seemingly endless vacuum of icy blue, the same color the magic had been in the real world, but moving images began to swirl around as she focused. The image streams casually glided through the strange medium like bubbles, and Lissa could actually hear faint noises emanating from them if she was close enough. Able to move through the void by sheer force of will, she popped up next to one blob of sounds and lights and focused on it. It became clearer, morphing into a sequence Lissa could actually perceive.

_A figure is lying on the ground. A blonde girl and a blue haired man stand over him._

"_Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING."_

"_What do you propose we do?"_

"_I… I dunno."_

_Chrom looked down as he began to stir. "I see you're awake now. There're better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."_

Lissa giggled to herself. "That must be when we first met, but from Robin's point of view. I knew he still had his memories! This is actually gonna work! I mean… *clears throat* of course it's going to work."

Losing herself in excitement and triumph, Lissa travelled from blob to blob reliving Robin's memories. They seemed to manifest in a chronological order of sorts.

_Lissa was speaking to a conscious Robin later that day, smiling ear to ear. "There's something about you, Robin. You're special. I can tell. You have an important destiny ahead of you. Now go out there and prove me right!"_

"I remember that too. That was after he woke up." Lissa shifted to another memory glob, happily watching as it deciphered itself.

_Robin was in a forest at night, with Lissa and Chrom nearby. The three spoke to a thin, blue haired swordsman with a distinctive mask in the shape of a butterfly. "Thank you, Marth. You saved my sister's life. Hell, I'd say you saved my life."_

_Marth almost angrily sheathed his sword. "Listen to me. I'm not here to talk. This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned."_

_Lissa spoke up. "Huh? What's teetering where now?"_

"Hey, that's when we met Marth. Why are all of these from the same day? Maybe I can go deeper." Lissa was downright addicted, but something caught her eye before moving again—if anything here could be called moving. Shifting to it, Lissa found Robin himself floating in the void. "There you are! I was wondering if you'd show up here too. I mean, it's your mind so—"

But Robin was in no mood to talk. Getting closer, Lissa realized he was shivering while curled tightly in a fetal position, faint violet shimmering in his eyes and brilliant purple light blaring from the distinctive mark he had even in incorporeal form. "Too much, Lissa."

"Huh? What's wrong—"

"TOO! MUCH!"

Lissa was about to inquire further, but the problem made itself known before her ethereal lips even parted. The memory blobs, once visible against the vacuum only when focused on, flooded the area and made themselves clear even when Lissa didn't want to see them.

_Robin stood in a throne room with Chrom and a middle aged man in gold and blue armor with fading blue hair of his own. Chrom looked inviting. The older man had bitterness to spare. "You're Plegian. Why should I trust you?"_

_Chrom stood by Robin. "I trust him, father. He fought by my side."_

_"Hmm."_

"Is that from when he met daddy?" Lissa could barely turn before another memory barraged her.

_Robin was with Chrom again, this time joined by a stout, aging man in robes and glasses. The two didn't look happy to see him._

"_Hierarch, I truly believe initiating this crackdown on the city's populace will only make things worse. You can't solve this crisis through force!"_

_The Hierarch didn't even acknowledge Robin, only speaking to Chrom. "Tighten the leash, my prince. Your pet Plegian is speaking out of turn."_

"That wasn't a very pleasant one. How do I stop this? Robin? Robin?!" Another memory came.

_Robin was alone with an armored woman. Specifically, he was fighting for breath as she pinned him by the neck to a wall. She had piercing red eyes and light blue hair, and wore armor much like Sumia and the Pegasus Knight recruits, though hers was gold and blue and far more elaborate. "I'm only going to give you one warning." Robin struggled, but the woman pressed harder. "Go near Princess Emmeryn again, and I will _kill _you. Simple enough, Plegian?"_

"Ooh, that one wasn't nice at all. This isn't fun anymore!"

"Lissa! Can you hear us?!" Sumia's voice echoed. "You're shaking! Do you know that?!"

Vaike also called out. "Teach isn't sure about this, Lis. Maybe you should stop!"

But the princess wasn't sure how. Lissa tried to float back, but the memory clusters surrounded her on all sides.

_Robin was with a woman with pitch black hair and eyes and partially transparent dark mage attire. "Tharja! There you are! When you stopped contacting Chrom, I thought the worst. Why haven't you tried to find us?"_

_Robin placed a hand on Tharja's shoulder, but she only returned a cold stare. "You should give up on me, Robin. I'm not the woman you and Chrom knew."_

"_I don't think that's true, and I don't believe the rumors about you either! Curses… hexes… they've said horrible things."_

"_Well, maybe I've done horrible things." Tharja flashed a mocking smile. "Oh, Robin. You want change and you want it to be pretty and clean. So unwilling to dirty your hands."_

"_I don't believe you mean that." Tharja began to turn away. "I believe the woman you used to be is still in there!"_

"_Someday, Robin, you will _stop _believing. This is the me you'll be getting used to."_

Lissa couldn't escape. The memories continued.

_Robin spoke to a man with fiery red hair and irises. Robin sounded unsure, while the man's voice burned with a subdued fury. "I don't know about this, Gangrel."_

"_That's your problem, Robin. No matter what the Ylisseans do to our kind, you still want to be their friend. You still want to be one of the 'good ones'."_

"_They're not our enemies."_

"_But surely you see the truth. They'll never view you as an equal. You'll always be an 'other'." Gangrel extended his hand. "You belong with your countrymen."_

One.

_Robin was with Gangrel again, Chrom by his side this time. Gangrel stood with Tharja alongside several other armed figures including a bearded berserker, a thinly mustached wyvern rider, a snow haired dark mage with a friendly enough smile, and another white haired dark flier in heels. The way they stood around Gangrel suggested Chrom and Robin had come to them. "This isn't what I wanted, Gangrel! I sought change same as you, but not like this! Not at the cost of innocent lives!"_

_Gangrel shot a finger towards Chrom. "Don't lecture me, Robin! You betrayed me! You saw how bad the Ylisseans are, and still you side with him!"_

_Chrom stepped forward, some of the others readying weapons as he did. "I'm not your enemy, Gangrel! I wanted change too, and I supported you when you wanted it to be peaceful! You betrayed Emmeryn's trust!"_

"_I _tried _it your way. I _tried _it your sister's way. Now is the time for ACTION!"_

After the other.

_Robin was with Chrom, Sumia, and several others now. One of Chrom's companions, a cavalier with curly red hair, was less than happy to see him. "Damn it, Robin! You did this! YOU DID THIS!"_

_Sumia stepped between them. "Knock it off, Sully! Robin's with us!"_

"_You're defending this?! The Plegians killed Captain Phila!"_

"_And he wasn't one of them!"_

_Chrom tried to ease her. "Sully, calm down!"_

"_No, prince-boy, I will not calm down!" She had to be restrained. "Gangrel rose to power because of you! You made him what he is, Robin! You gave us a damned warlord, and the world won't forget!"_

"R-Robin! How do I leave?! ROBIN?!"

_Robin found himself strapped to a table, his arms and legs paralyzed by an unseen force. Purple light flooded from the mark on his hand, just as it did in the mindspace. "Stop it, Validar! I don't understand why you're doing this?!"_

_An elderly dark mage with menacing red eyes and a pointy goatee stood over him, a dissonantly serene smile on his face. "Don't worry, child."_

"_Validar!"_

"_Your so called friends may have rejected you," Validar opened his palms, unleashing snakelike tendrils of swirling darkness towards Robin. Lissa felt it the instant he did. "But Grima's love never will."_

"Gaah!" Lissa's projection flickered as the void collapsed, the six eyed symbol on Robin's hand manifesting everywhere Lissa looked. The memory clusters. The vacuum itself. The inside of her eyelids. "ROBIIIIIN!"

* * *

Back in the real world, Robin and Lissa stood in mutual spasming as icy blue light poured from their eyes. Lissa had completely lost control of the spell, and she dug her own fingers into her head as if trying to put them through her skull.

"Damn it! Teach hates standing around!"

"Wait, Vaike! Don't—"

"Come on, Sumia! This has been going on too long!"

Vaike got a solid grip on Lissa and, utterly clueless as to what to do, tried furiously shaking her out of it. Both her and Robin froze up before unleashing a magical discharge, knocking them both to the ground but harmlessly passing through everyone else. The recruits were quick to step back. "What the hell?!"

"Robin!" Cried Sumia.

"Lissa!" Followed Vaike.

Both were out cold.

* * *

_**I Remember Me**_ **is a loose adaptation/retelling of **_**Awakening's**_ **main story. It begins **_**in medias res**_ **relative to **_**Awakening's**_ **beginning with Ylisse and Plegia already in the midst of a long war and a Robin who is notably suffering amnesia for the **_**second **_**time. Going forward, the fic will be divided into "then" and "now" storylines. The present segments focus on Robin again rising to be Ylisse's tactician while the Shepherds help with his memories, while past segments explore Robin's original adventures with them and the exact role he had in making the world as it is now.**

**The fic also changes Awakening's story in a number of ways, exploring concepts like a Ylisse still ruled by Chrom, Emmeryn, and Lissa's warmongering father, a Gangrel that gradually rose to power, and a second generation from a timeline where pairings and history defining moments weren't always the same. **

**Thanks for reading, and please let me know if you want to see more of this.**


	2. Old Faces, New Encounters

The pleasant warmth of the afternoon shone down on Robin, gently stirring him into a peaceful wakefulness. The voices that blared in his ears as his mind focused weren't quite as gentle.

"Oh no. This is bad. This is very bad! Why won't he wake up?!"

Robin recognized Sumia's voice and assumed she was the one pacing back and forth by him. Lissa's chimed in next. "Calm down, Sumia."

"This is bad, Lissa! Robin came back to us, and we've killed him! This is like Battle of Volstintol bad—or, or Careston bad! No, it's worse! This is when the Exalt found out about your first boyfriend bad!"

"He'll be fine! I recovered from the spell, didn't I?"

"He's still out?" Robin heard Vaike's voice as his footsteps gradually became louder. "I guess Teach didn't miss much while he was on patrol, huh?"

"Actually, you missed the strangest thing, Vaike." Lissa replied. "A blissful silence descended over the area. I can't imagine what caused it."

"Oh! Oh, the hilarity! It's too much!" Robin could hear Vaike approaching. His vision darkened even through closed eyelids, suggesting Vaike and Lissa now hovered directly over him. "So what's wrong with him? You recovered before I even left. Why hasn't he?"

"Will he ever wake up?" Sumia wondered, her voice gripped in worry.

"We need to give him time. This isn't something you can force." More of Robin's constitution returned to him with their every word. That, or he somehow became stronger through annoyance. Unable to listen any longer, he finally mustered the strength to awaken and saw the three standing watchfully. Lissa's light blue eyes sparkled with excitement and relief as they met his. "Oh! Guys. Guys!"

Sumia almost bumped into her as she moved to look. "Robin!"

"Hey there, Robin. I see you're finally awake."

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

Lissa slugged Vaike in the shoulder. "You said you wouldn't do that!"

"Oh, come on. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn't resist."

"This is a serious moment, Vaike!"

"But it was okay for Chrom to say it? It's Chrom's line, is that it?"

"Chrom said that once three and a half years ago!"

_Please shut up. _Was the thought Robin desperately wanted to articulate, but he couldn't yet summon the focus. Gathering his bearings, Robin tried to make sense of the competing sensations in his mind until he could finally craft a sentence that expressed his immediate concerns.

"Ow. My head."

All three of Robin's new companions gathered around, but he noticed Lissa was more deliberate in her motions. She looked over him thoroughly, clearly possessed of actual medical training. "Are you okay?"

"No." Robin became more miserable as his mind cleared and directed him to the complaint department his nervous system was currently abusing, but at least he was strong enough to sit up now.

"What's wrong?"

"Agh, I have a splitting headache, and I feel heavy. Like there's a metal object strapped to my neck." He clipped his hand against the equalizer Lissa hadn't removed. "And there _is_ a chunk of metal strapped to my neck. Wonderful."

"Sorry. I didn't want to take it off in case of a power spike with the spell. Your mind wasn't totally wiped out by that, was it? Do you remember the spell? You at least remember me, right?

"Yeah. I think so. Your name's Lissa." He turned to Vaike. "And you're… Teach?"

"Hey. He remembered the Vaike's title. I can't even get my own men to call me that."

"What? You've two names?"

"Look what you're doing, Vaike!" Lissa chided in the tone she usually seemed to take with him. "Your silly multiple names are confusing him!"

"Hey, come on. I'm not a child." Robin finally managed to rise. "It's all coming back to me now. There's Lissa… Vaike… Sumia… her two sidekicks…"

Sumia's Pegasus Knights had been having their own conversation, but they both turned to Robin at that comment. "What'd you just call us?!"

"Am I missing anyone?"

"No. That's everyone you met. There are a few more of us though." Lissa motioned to three armed men coming up behind Vaike. They were fighters like him, clad in leather armor with axes slung across their backs. They expressed no recognition of Robin. "These are the men Vaike contributed to our patrol. He's something of an officer now, if you can believe that. The key word there is 'something'."

"Sir." The men saluted as Vaike's number two spoke up. "We've all heard the stories. It's an honor."

"Uh… why?"

"You're Chrom's legendary tactician, right?"

The militarized respect only unnerved Robin. He had no idea what stories they might have heard about his supposed exploits. With his amnesia, they would be just stories to Robin too even if he did know. "You, um, you don't have to salute."

"Psh. They don't treat me like that." Vaike turned to his team. "Why don't you guys ever treat the Vaike-Master General like that?"

"Robin has actually done things, Vaike."

"And he doesn't give himself third person titles." Another of the fighters added.

"Hey! Teach is a superior officer now, and he orders all of you to respect him as such!" The men just stared. "... Please?"

The sound of heavily armored horses treading across the plains brought Robin's head around just as Lissa motioned towards them. "Moving on, there's another old friend who's excited to finally see you again. Isn't that right, Frederick?"

He turned to find a squadron of knights assembling in front of him, the four in the back taking the time to have their horses stop at a perfect forty five degree angle behind their leader. The great knight in front—Robin was willing to go out on a limb and assume this was Frederick—wore the most elaborate armor, blue and white and polished without a stain or speck in sight. Even his poor horse was more steel than steed. The man himself had curly brown hair and dark brown eyes, and he appeared to have a full _suit _beneath his armor if the collar was anything to go by. His eyes expressed familiarity with Robin, but he still came across as stern and unfeeling. His chiseled jaw did not manifest a smile as with Sumia, Lissa, and Vaike. He looked as if he hadn't changed expressions since the war began.

"Robin." Frederick dismounted and gave a slight bow as he stepped in front of the tactician. "I see you have returned to us at last. Lord Chrom will be pleased." His visage hardened into a slight glare. "Now, I eagerly await an explanation as to why you have been away without leave for the better part of three years."

"... So this is a happy reunion with an old friend, huh?"

"Frederick!" Lissa stepped between them. "Robin miraculously returns to us after all this time and that's how you greet him?"

"Even you should be smiling with excitement." Sumia teased. "You remember how to, right? Just take your lips and put them in the opposite shape from what you're doing now."

"Robin's return is a most joyous occasion." Replied Frederick, completely deadpan. "All the same, we are still at war. His absence was completely unacceptable."

"He didn't just up and leave!" Lissa fumed. "Something happened to him. Something that caused his amnesia to flare up again."

Frederick seemed shocked, but it was brief. So brief that Robin could have imagined it. "He's forgotten what happened to him?"

"He's forgotten everything."

"Ah, my apologies, Robin. I assumed you'd abandoned your duties to the Halidom, but since it appears you are simply the victim of a mental affliction, you are hereby absolved of any negligence based wrongdoing. With that out of the way, I'd be happy to take you through all the paperwork you missed."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Paperwork?"

"You were Ylisse's chief strategist, tasked with anticipating and countering any and all threats the Plegian war effort could muster. You _still_ hold that position, and you still have responsibilities. Fortunately, I've gathered a dossier covering the various changes in the Ylissean war effort you missed as well as a collection of pending alerts and reports you neglected. We can go over it all together, if you wish."

"Come on." Sumia spoke up. "You can't just dump work on him. He doesn't even know what you mean."

Robin put distance between himself and the knight. "Yeah, I'm good. This is clearly a military force, and following orders isn't really my thing. Me and following orders, we parted company. We're not on speaking terms."

Robin's comment won him several glares from the knights behind Frederick. Much like Sumia's pegasus knights and Vaike's fighters, Frederick's men took after their leader. They apparently shared his disposition too. "Oh no. He's one of those people. The kind that snarks."

"I assure you," Frederick called back. "Robin truly was a valuable asset to Ylisse. He will be again once this setback has been dealt with. Now, about that dossier—"

"No paperwork, Frederick! We're not subjecting him to that!" Lissa gave the man in question a hopeful look. "But we were planning to walk you through everything you missed, Robin. Of course, you might remember on your own if we manage to get your memories back. Don't worry," Lissa noticed him tugging on the equalizer and said her next words as if to counter his growing concern. "It won't be like last time."

"Right." Robin's mind was briefly bombarded by sights and sounds from the memories Lissa practically forced on him. He somehow knew trying to consciously bring them to mind would make the feeling worse, and instead focused on forcing everything back down. "Your little spell."

"It was technically your spell."

"But I don't remember coming up with it. I barely remember how to use magic at all." He frowned. "And you were the one who messed it up."

"Alright, alright. Point taken. I'm sorry about what happened, Robin. I went too far, especially considering I've never actually used the spell before. The mind is a delicate thing, and I shouldn't be tampering with it. It would be dangerous to try again."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"... I want to try again."

"Huh?!"

"It'll be different, Robin. I tried to unearth too many memories at once, and it overwhelmed us both." Lissa channeled that icy blue magic through her fingers again. The mere sight of it gave Robin a queasy feeling. "I'll focus on more relevant memories this time. We'll start with helping you to remember everybody. Then we'll get into all that exposition with the war and Plegian aggressions and whatnot."

"Hold on. Why do we have to do that again at all?"

"It should aid in helping you recover from your amnesia. I can't say for sure why it came back, but using the spell gave me a good idea of what's going on in your mind. There are gaps, but a lot of your memories are still there. The problem is getting you to actually recognize them as yours, and you won't be able to do that until you make a number of critical neural connections. That's where the magic you developed way back when comes in. One way to help—and this is what _you _told me when you first developed the spell in the first place—is to walk you through those memories in a controlled sensorial environment. Storytelling exercises higher level brain functions by encouraging the listener to subconsciously plug gaps in the narrative. The spell you developed goes a step further and displays actual memories as aural and visual experiences. This will help with your dissociative identities."

Vaike aimlessly stared through Lissa as he tried to follow along. "Yeesh, Lis. You really have grown up. Now could you repeat that in our language?"

"If we use the spell to show Robin his memories, he'll actually, you know, remember them, and he'll better understand that the experiences are his. It'll take time, but each session should gradually help." Lissa excitedly glanced around. "So we'll all show Robin our totally awesome adventures that definitely happened, and he'll be back to normal before he knows it."

"Woah, hey! Don't I get a say?" The tactician spoke up.

Lissa hadn't even considered that she might have offended him. "Robin?"

"Did you ever think I might not want anything to do with your war? Try to see this from my point of view. I don't remember being your strategist, I don't remember your war, and I'm sorry, but I don't remember any of you. You can't just drag me back into a conflict I don't understand." The former tactician tried to lighten things with a smile as his companions soured. "Maybe all my memories will come back someday, but until then I don't know who I am. Not really. Not completely. Right now… right now I kind of like that. The way I see it, since I can't remember any of my past, I'm basically free to be… whoever I want to be."

Sumia at least genuinely considered his words. "So we need to earn your trust again?"

"I… I guess. I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but I just don't feel like this war of yours has anything to do with me. Maybe the old me was involved, but I'm not him. You say I had this high ranking position, but how could I possibly go back to being your strategist without my memories? I couldn't do it if I tried."

Vaike, Sumia, and Lissa expressed some sympathy. Frederick not so much. "That is patently absurd, Robin! Now, kindly return with us to Ylisstol and resume your service as Chrom's tactician and I'll forgive the talk of desertion."

"I don't even know what a Ylisstol is!"

"Frederick, could you not be _you _for one second." Lissa pleaded.

"Milady—"

"Robin does make a good point. We're not considering this from his side. It must have been hard enough to adjust the first time we met him, and how he's burdened with all these stories he doesn't remember being part of." She turned back to him. "So how about we fix that? It's natural to think about your past self as an almost entirely separate individual given your inability to recall his… your experiences. All I want is to guide you back through them. Think of it as therapy. No, as a storytelling session. It could be fun, Robin."

"Fun." He recalled the actual spell. The vacuum of infinite white and blue and the increasingly traumatic memories that assaulted his every sense. "Yeah, real fun. My favorite part was being choked out by that blue haired Pegasus Knight."

"We'll go for more pleasant memories this time. I could control what we saw at first, Robin. I should be able to maintain that concentration as long as we keep the sessions brief. Plus, I had another idea. Maybe the magic involved was too much for the two of us, but if we involved everyone in the spell…"

"Everyone?"

"I think I can bring the others into your mind through physical contact when I initiate the session. The more minds we have linked, the more stable the experience will be. In theory, anyways."

"But—"

"I understand that you're worried, Robin, but aren't you at least a little curious about the past? I mean, you and I have done a lot together. I was there the day Chrom found you, not to mention all the other stuff we got through. The Falchion Conspiracy, the Fall of Careston, the war with the Sheep Eaters—" Lissa fought back a snicker. "That time we glued Vaike's hands together."

"THAT WAS YOU GUYS?!"

"Sure this is strange and new now, but you'll understand once we go through your memories. Past you isn't a different man, Robin. I promise we're not trying to change you. We only want to bring you back."

"So I'm some kind of less than right now?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I can see wanting to reinvent yourself, but understand that we are your friends, and past you _is _you. You won't lose your free will, and it won't erase who you are now. All you'll be doing is _remembering._" Lissa gave Frederick a side glance. "And we won't force you back into the war. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't understand it."

Again Robin found Lissa easy to trust. He couldn't bring to mind any memories of his supposed allies, no, but he did believe himself a good judge of character. Sumia's two pegasus knights, Vaike's three fighters, and Frederick's four mounted knights didn't seem to care much about the situation. Their largely apathetic glances had only the vaguest tint of curiosity or wonder. Their opinions of Robin were entirely professional, willing to follow his lead or ignore him in equal measure depending only on whether it was decided he still held a formal rank or not. On the other hand, he could tell the other three really did know him personally. Frederick held a look of quiet frustration, seemingly judging Robin for not being there when Ylisse needed him. Sumia was softer, but he could tell she too wanted an idealized Robin back. The tactician that was. Vaike… appeared more confused than anything. But Lissa genuinely tried to empathize, even if he could tell she held onto feelings for a Robin no longer standing in front of her. Maybe he couldn't recall their actual friendship, but he knew what was lost had been genuine.

And the alternative was wandering off into the plains, hoping more of the smoke monsters didn't appear. "You'll respect my choice in the matter?"

"Of course. We won't do the spell again if you don't want to."

Robin pretended to think about it, casually leaning into his own arms as he slowly exhaled and waited for the anticipation to build, but his mind was made up. He could tell his new companions cared, but they weren't the ones who'd be taken down memory lane tied and dragged behind a moving carriage. "Hmm… _no. _If it's all the same to you guys, I'd rather not pay a visit to flashback hell."

"... Oh."

"Well, the sun's getting pretty low in the sky now. So… lunch?"

"Preposterous!" Frederick thundered over to Robin and all but stared him down. "Robin, you were a treasured ally and a valuable asset to Ylisse and her war for survival. Now, as one of your trusted allies and closest friends, I hereby order you to subject yourself to milady's spell so that the more intelligent and considerably more dutiful version of you can be returned to us."

"I thought I had a choice!"

"Civil liberty and wartime necessity do not go hand in hand, Robin. When in doubt, we throw out the first one. Now, back into your brain you go. Time is of the essence."

"Lissa?" Robin called out, unsure of what else he could do as Frederick got even closer. "Lissa?!"

"Frederick! Robin said—"

Sumia stepped forward, a sly smirk on her face. "Hold on, milady. I think I can try to reason with him in his language."

"I beg your pardon? My language?"

"Frederick, if Robin is still Chrom's tactician and still has responsibilities to Ylisse, then he _outranks _you. Otherwise he's legally just a Plegian civilian, and you can't involve him in Ylissean military affairs. Either way, you can't order him to do anything."

Frederick stood in place, giving a calm but definite glare as he realized he'd been outmaneuvered. "Then we shall settle this affair later. Speaking of military affairs, it is time we returned to our patrol. We've much ground left to cover."

"Great." Lissa chirped. "Robin can come with us. That gives him time to think things over—"

"Come with us?" Frederick squinted. "No. No, no, _no. _If Robin is a Plegian civilian, then why would he accompany us on patrol?"

"But… but he's Robin?"

"And yet he insists on avoiding Robin's responsibilities."

Vaike scratched his head. "Err, Frederick actually has a point there. I mean, what if we get attacked while on patrol? Do we tell him to run and hide?"

"I can handle myself in a fight."

"But you said it wasn't your conflict."

"I could still defend you all."

"Teach doesn't mean to call you out, man, but you can't just opt in and out of the war. What if we have to attack a Plegian force? Would you fight then?"

"Er…"

"Unacceptable!" Frederick interjected. "An Ylissean military force will not be accompanied by a Plegian civilian. He wouldn't be accountable to anyone. He could attack us or provide assistance to the enemy."

Lissa looked incredulously between her male allies. "Why would Robin do that?! That doesn't make sense!"

"Military law is in effect regardless of whether or not it makes sense."

One of Frederick's knights nodded. "We have to leave him here. A Plegian civilian cannot be involved in one of our operations. The accords ratified under Robin three years ago are clear."

Lissa ran her hands through her hair. "So Robin can't come with us because of laws Robin approved! Argh!"

The former tactician didn't want to be forced into a war he no longer understood, but he didn't want to be alone either. "And… if I were your tactician again?"

Frederick crossed his arms. "Then you have _pending paperwork._"

"I see…" He warily looked over to Lissa. "So…"

"It's alright. We'll… stay here for now."

"Milady! We need to return to our patrol! Plegian forces could be mobilizing as we speak!"

"Enough, Frederick! You can't order me around either." Lissa changed gears into an authoritative attitude. It was well practiced, considering her height and girlish features. "This is my operation."

"So we're just going to hold our position until we figure out what to do with Robin?"

"... No?"

* * *

But that was exactly what they did. A very awkward period of would be peace followed as the Ylissean force perpetually hovered around a few square meters of terrain. Seconds dragged into hours. Hours dragged into years. People were born and lived out their entire lives. Empires rose and fell. The Voice of Naga passed away from natural causes. Continents broke apart and reformed. Stars formed and went nova. The universe suffered an inevitable heat death.

Then Robin glanced into the sky and realized it couldn't have been more than thirty minutes.

"Robin," Frederick's voice pierced through the calm as he approached. He would have appreciated a chance to alleviate the boredom with anyone else, but the knight was about the one thing that could make it worse.

"Frederick. My alleged old friend."

"I take it the afternoon finds you well?"

"Um, well enough."

"Good. We can only hope the rest of the Ylissean countryside is faring as well given that there's no one currently serving to protect it." Frederick stood with his arms behind his back. A superficially polite pose, with only the slightest expression on his rigid face betraying the knight's contempt. "May I tell you a story, Robin?"

He quickly glanced around to see if there was any way out. Sumia was tending to her Pegasus while her two recruits held a private conversation, occasionally glancing over to Robin with a giggle. Vaike busied himself with a body language enhanced story that his soldiers didn't appear to believe. Lastly, Lissa appeared to have been caught by Frederick's own number two and was apparently made to weather some kind of scouting report. Robin doubted this was a coincidence, as she could have shooed Frederick away from him.

The knight had his bases covered. "Sure, Frederick."

"Excellent. This story is particularly relevant to your current situation, Robin. It will help to remind you of Ylisse and her people." Robin got up from his spot in the grass, realizing Frederick would continue to awkwardly stand over him otherwise. "Once upon a time, there was a peaceful nation—a land of tranquility and prosperity—that was threatened by its aggressive westernly neighbor. Fortunately, a brave and powerful military figure rose to prominence and fought against the unprovoked aggression. He was magnificent, with a distinctive blade and a glorious, heroic build. This was a brilliant leader." Frederick paused. "And then there was his tactician."

Robin flashed a teasing smile. "Gee… that must have been Sumia and Vaike."

"No! Not… allow me to finish. The prince was a valiant champion of peace and justice—"

"You didn't say he was a prince."

"Fine. He was a prince. Anyway, the prince was a valiant champion of peace and justice, but the opposing force's war machine was all encompassing, and at a critical moment, the prince's loyal tactician—fondly remembered for his _loyalty _and _sense of duty_—disappeared. The war went poorly after that."

"Sounds like he got out of there just in time."

Frederick gave his subtle glare again. "Eventually, at long last, the tactician finally returned. Alas, the tactician was consumed by weakness and slothfulness, and he chose not to stand with his country again. The war was lost, and our paradise was no more. Do you understand the moral of this story, Robin?"

"Yeah." He pretended to deeply consider it. "I think… the peaceful nation got what was coming to it."

"Excuse me?!"

"It sounds to me like the westernly nation did nothing wrong."

"How dare you sympathize with Plegia over Prince Chrom!" Frederick scolded. "The Plegians may be your countrymen, but we were you comrades in arms!"

"So that wasn't a fairytale?"

"No, Robin! It was a succinct but largely accurate summarization of the current conflict, with a prophetic ending of what will happen if you do not return to duty at once!"

"Wow. That went _way _over my head."

Frederick looked him over analytically. "I see your critical thinking isn't what it was."

Robin laughed, more from the ridiculousness of the knight's constant seriousness than anything. "Relax. I was messing with you."

"So you do understand Plegia's aggressions are unwarranted?"

"Yes, Frederick. I got the gist of your _brilliant _story. I don't think I've ever heard a more engaging narrative."

"Oh." He lightened up. "You enjoyed it?"

"I'm not serious."

Frederick returned to his default frown. "Ah, so you exaggerate. I'm disappointed, Robin. Exaggeration is a form of conversational fraud and a prelude to outright deception."

"Sorry?"

"I prefer speech to be as direct and clear as possible. I admit as a young lad I would freely go around casually experimenting with figurative language. A simile here. Some hyperbole there. Sometimes I'd dare to personify. I spent years weaning myself off these literary addictions. I find it clouds meaning and serves as a gateway to uncertainty. Occasionally I'll spice things up with a metaphor, but that is all I allow myself anymore."

"So pretty much everything you say is worded like a military report?"

"That is the end goal, yes."

"... I take it we didn't get along."

"I wouldn't say that. Our working relationship was fairly amicable once I got over my initial distrust of you."

"And how long did that take?"

"Almost until you disappeared. That said, I should note Prince Chrom trusted you from the beginning."

"Chrom? Robin wants to know more about Chrom?" Lissa perked her head up, finally seeing her chance to get away from Frederick's knight. "Sorry, I'd love to hear the rest of that report, but it sounds like I'm needed. No one here knows more about him than his sister, heh."

"I know this isn't how it usually works." Robin mused, inching closer to her. "But could the princess kindly save the dashing stranger from the evil knight?"

Said knight followed with a dry sigh. "The former Chief Strategist is hilarious."

Lissa giggled. "Don't mind Frederick the Wary over here."

"I've not earned a new title after three and a half years, milady?"

"Want to see my Frederick impression? 'Grr, I'm Frederick. I like rules. Drink your tea with pinkies extended, Lissa. Don't practice past curfew, Sully. No eating on patrol, Stahl. Rules, rules, rules. _Gods _I love rules!' Pretty good, huh?"

Frederick didn't have a response for that one. "... Milady."

Robin noted Lissa certainly had an odd way of wrangling in her subordinates. "The inexorable lawman isn't bothering you too much, is he Robin?"

"Heh, he's an acquired taste." Robin's smirk hid a growing unease. He knew the Ylisseans weren't moving because of him, and the awkwardness only worsened with the ever westering sun. He felt very pressured. As much as he feared relenting to Lissa's magic again, he didn't see another way out.

Yet oddly enough, Lissa herself was a small source of comfort. "So we're… still here, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Robin. I don't mean to put you in a corner… even if that's… what we're doing."

"We can always leave him." Frederick "contributed".

"He's Robin!"

"And he's rejecting us and our offer to remind him of what was. If we can't change his mind…"

"I… I know."

Robin feared the return of another universe outliving awkward pause and bought himself a few seconds by clearing his throat. He went with the first thing on his mind when that wore off. "So, Chrom, huh? Your brother? He was an old friend?"

"I still can't believe you don't remember him. Believe it or not, you somehow knew him the first time you and he ever met. I guess your amnesia's worse."

"And he's the leader of Ylisse?"

"That's right. The war elevated him to that position. I guess we have to go over the war, huh?"

"It does seem to define this setting. As I understand, your nation, Ylisse, was attacked by the nation of Plegia, your westernly neighbor."

Frederick showed some semblance of pride. "You paid attention to my chronicle of events."

"Yes, Frederick. I remember your silly story."

"Excuse me, my story was not—"

"So Ylisse was attacked by Plegia. Why did the war begin in the first place? Did the Plegians just invade?"

"That's what we're dealing with now, but the war has a deceptively complex origin. I'm trying to think of how to explain it without a big infodump. No one likes a whole bunch of exposition right at the beginning, right?"

Sumia and Vaike had gathered around, and the pegasus knight stepped forward. "I'll try. Plegia and Ylisse have a long history of conflict, Robin. Tensions go back centuries."

"Centuries? So you're locked in some kind of forever war?"

"It's been off and on. There were fifteen years of peace before this war, but ten years of conflict before that."

Lissa's eyes fell. "My father's crusade."

"Your… your father?"

"I'm the princess. Chrom is the prince. Our father is the actual Exalt. The leader of Ylisse. He began a war with Plegia when he was younger. He disappeared not long before the current one started. We're… we're not sure where he went."

"And he _began _this other war?"

"Yeah. They, um, they call it the Crusade."

Sumia continued. "The Exalt and the Plegian King tried to create a new age of peace afterwards. It lasted for awhile, but things… things fell apart. You and Chrom were involved. So was Gangrel."

"Who?"

"Plegia's leader. He's the one attacking us."

"So he's their king?"

"No. He's not really a king. He seized power and ruined everything."

"Where were Chrom and I?"

"Well… um… you actually used to work with Gangrel."

"Huh?!"

"I… it is kind of hard to keep this brief."

"Ooh! Teach will give it a shot." Vaike stepped up to Robin. "See, the Vaikinator remembers how things actually were much better than these guys. I wasn't a soldier back then like these sticks in the mud. Wait… stick in the muds?"

"Get to the point, Vaike."

The fighter wrapped an arm around Robin's shoulder and waved his other arm as if to set the scene. "Point is, I got the common man's view of the pre-war powder keg. It wasn't great for guys like us, Robin. Ylisse sucked. Plegia sucked. Everything sucked. The flags might have been different, but it was an ocean of suck."

"Uh-huh?"

"Society was heavily divided, with a small class of nobles controlling everything while the little guy struggled just to get by. Ylisse and Plegia hated each other, but it was more than a turf war. There was corruption everywhere, kept in place by a rigid police force. It was a bad time to be a shirtless wanderer, let me tell you. Nightsticks won't scar you, but _damn _they sting."

"Vaike was a bit of a vagrant back then." Frederick added.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Fred-wad. Thanks a lot."

"Where did the war come from?" Robin wanted to know.

"It started as a simple dream for a better world. Roads to hell and good intentions, you know. You see, three men took a stand against the way things were; Chrom-boy, who got his start as an officer in the Ylissean peacekeeping force, Gangrel, who was once a friggin' _writer _if you can believe that, and you."

"And what was I?"

"A bum, Robin." Vaike said with a smirk. "You were a bum."

"What?! Lissa?"

She suppressed a smile. "I mean… it's kinda true."

"Things picked up." Vaike continued. "Chrom was the one who first found you, and you made such an impression he invited you to become a pig—err, _law enforcer _like him. At some point Chrom also became aware of Gangrel's work. I'm not much for reading myself, and, hell, neither is Chrom. That ginger bastard must have done something to get his attention. The three of you had the most unlikely friendship ever."

"Hold on." Robin asked as he freed himself. "I was friends with both wartime leaders?"

"Gangrel and Chrom were two sides of how things were." Sumia added. "Chrom was royalty. Gangrel was peasant born. Chrom could influence the nobles, and Gangrel reached out to commoners. They wanted change for everyone, and you helped to be a mediating influence, Robin."

Lissa sighed. "It all started with such promise, but none of us understood just how much… _rage _Gangrel was hiding. The pre-war government didn't help. They didn't dare touch Chrom, but they thought they could silence a peasant. They tried to eliminate Gangrel, and it ruined him. He dropped the pen… and picked up the sword."

"He became paranoid." Sumia stated. "He thought every Ylissean was out to get him. He only spent time with Plegians and started recruiting more radical followers. Soldiers. Mages. Some woman named Aversa. I think he made you choose between him and Chrom. You chose Chrom, or you refused to choose. Whatever happened, Gangrel went his own way."

Lissa shook her head, clearly personally affected by the events. "There was a crackdown against the Plegian populace, and Gangrel responded by going underground. Chrom quit the peacekeeping force in protest and you went with him. This was around the time daddy… the Exalt disappeared. That's when Gangrel made his move. He lead an insurgency, seized an entire city, and killed every Ylissean he could find."

"And he's not finished." Frederick replied grimly.

"One city became five. Five cities became twenty. He eventually became strong enough to overthrow the Plegian King and seize control of the entire country, and he's made its war machine his. Now he's trying to wipe us out. Chrom has risen to hold the line against him, but he needed you, Robin. We've been losing ever since you disappeared."

"And now you understand our urgency."

Robin nodded at Frederick as he considered everything. "So… the problem is Gangrel—"

"Pretty much. I mean, he had noble goals once."

"Exactly, Lissa. The problem is Gangrel, but more specifically, the problem is what Ylisse did to him."

None of the Ylisseans took that well. "Hold on! We're defending ourselves!"

"Yes, but it sounds like the Plegians were just reacting. Both Gangrel and Chrom wanted change, but they disagreed over the scale and end goal. Chrom, the noble, wanted things to be different, but only through an orderly transition of power that didn't threaten Ylissean interests. When Gangrel sought to emancipate his people from a government that would readily _kill _Plegians—your words, not mine—Chrom got scared."

"He's trying to _take over, _Robin!"

"So he's gone too far, but it sounds to me like this all goes back to what the Exalt did to Plegia." He became increasingly aware of the glares he was getting. "And I'm sorry, but as an outside observer looking in, this war does seem like a turf war. Ylisse pushes Plegia. Plegia pushes Ylisse. There's no morality to that. Good guys and bad guys? Come on. Life's never that simple."

Lissa at least tried to connect with Robin, fighting back the frustration the others didn't hide. "You're not wrong about all of that, but we're just fighting to _survive. _Gangrel won't stop until he's conquered the entire continent. What the Exalt did before was horrible, but we don't defend that. The Crusade was wrong, and even daddy eventually realized that. At least he was willing to give peace a chance. Gangrel isn't. There's a reason you chose Chrom once."

Robin shrugged. "I'm just trying to be impartial here. If you were all Plegians, I'm sure I'd get a story about terrible Ylissean bullying, and I'd doubt that too."

Lissa crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her hip. "Hmph! First of all, a Plegian force would never look as good as yours truly. Just a bunch of drab cloaks with way too much black and purple."

Again Robin found himself longing for more than his tan shirt. He had the oddest feeling he normally wore a cloak, even if he hadn't come with one and couldn't recall ever having one. "Purple and black doesn't sound that bad."

"Ugh, that's right. You used to have something like that. But second of all, and maybe this should have gone first, the Plegians are conquerors! They're thugs and monsters ravaging the land, and whatever righteous cause motivated them once has just become an excuse."

"But I can't just believe that."

"What if we can _show_ you?"

"Oh no." Robin said, quickly considering what that likely meant. "Not that again."

"Robin." Sumia pleaded. "I know something went wrong, but understand we only want to help."

"You try going through that!"

"Actually, that's the idea." Lissa stepped forward, laboring to sound as gentle as possible. "I'm going to see if we can link multiple people together before trying the spell again. I couldn't get a stable connection last time, but adding more minds should make the spell less likely to spiral out of control."

Robin placed a nervous hand on the Plegian tool still strapped to him. "I don't know."

"One more thing, Robin. I didn't have a clear goal in our last session. I won't randomly look through memories. In fact, this time we'll be the ones showing you things. It's a two way connection."

"Well, this magic just handily solves all our problems, doesn't it?"

Lissa giggled. "You mock the idea, but you know what makes that funny? You came up with the spell, remember?"

"So I'm the original wizard who did it, huh?" Robin sighed, still not sure of a way out of the scenario short of walking into the wilderness and fending for himself. Plus, a part of him was genuinely curious. "Let's say I agreed to this? It will be different from before?"

"It'll be quick, and we won't poke around. I just want to… tell you a story, so to speak. It won't take any longer than ten minutes, and we can stop at any time. Seriously, if _anything _feels wrong, let us know." She slowly approached and rested a soft hand on his shoulder. Robin could see it in her eyes. She wasn't just trying to persuade. She had real concern for him, and he believed her when she insisted the previous incident had been a mistake. "I promise we won't harm you."

He closed his eyes and mentally braced, eventually steeling himself with a nod. "Alright. I'll… I'll try again."

"Alright?!" Lissa asked eagerly.

"Alright?" Came Frederick's more insistent voice.

"_Alright._" Robin confirmed. "Just keep it brief."

Lissa was quick to bring the strange magic coursing back through her fingers as she looked to the other Ylisseans, and Robin felt a tingle in the equalizer. "Okay. Now, since you guys are coming in with me, we all need to be in physical contact. Sumia, touch me, and not through clothing."

Vaike snickered as the Pegasus Knight took the time to remove her gauntlet. "Hot."

"It's _hand holding_, Vaike. Besides, you have to do it too." Vaike took Lissa's other hand, but she continued giving an expectant look. "You're not done."

"Who else?"

"_Frederick, _Vaike. All four of us are doing it this time."

Vaike glanced to see Frederick had gotten rather close. "Hey, woah! The Vaike needs his space."

The knight crossed his arms. "Except my gauntlets are not easily detached. You'll be touching my head."

"Come again?!"

"It provides suitable skin to skin contact if that is required."

"What?! Lis!"

"Just do it, Vaike!" Lissa huffed. "This is for Robin!"

And so Vaike slowly rested his palm against Frederick's cheek, eventually shifting it down to his neck when the awkwardness became unbearable. "Ugh. 'Join the Ylissean Army. Protect your loved ones. Hold Frederick by the head.'"

"You wanna try out the neck brace?" Robin tried glancing back to the equalizer, but it didn't afford him much head movement. "This thing is getting hot, Lissa! How did it work again?"

"Equalizers emit magical radiation. I'm sure it's safe."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then… try not to have any kids for awhile." Lissa didn't have a free hand to bring against her forehead with Vaike and Sumia on both sides, but her eyes turned that distinctive icy blue as she began to prepare the spell all the same. Robin began to feel its pull. His conscious thoughts fell away, and unknown but strangely familiar feelings welled up from a part of his mind that didn't at all feel like his. He instinctively fought at first, but the sensation didn't feel like violation for long. It became pleasant. An escape from a fog Robin didn't realize had fallen over him. "Here goes. Everyone, think of Robin. Robin… um… just take a deep breath."

* * *

Robin was… somewhere. _Again. _He found himself surrounded on all sides by that seemingly endless vacuum, and moving image clusters casually glided around like bubbles in a calm, standing body of water. He could faintly hear noises emanating from the closer ones, and they were clear enough for him to see people and locations. Beyond these were larger clusters that got progressively darker in color, the most distant ones showing only as pitch black blobs. That strange, six eyed mark on the back of Robin's hand appeared in blood red on these clusters whenever Robin tried to focus on one, and the vacuum itself then appeared to grow foggier as if he were losing his grip on it. He gave up on making sense of the place and endeavored on shutting himself away and clearing his mind entirely, not wanting to be kicked back into mental shutdown.

Looking forward, for whatever directions were worth in this strange non-space, Robin saw that Vaike, Sumia, and Frederick had indeed accompanied Lissa. Their frantic glances suggested they too were mindful of the memory clusters swirling around, though the former tactician couldn't know if they perceived his mind exactly as he did.

"Wow. So this is Robin's mind." Vaike spoke up. "And they sometimes call me scatterbrained."

"Be nice, Vaike." Sumia noticed an encroaching audio visual glob. "What are these?"

"I believe those represent Robin's memories." Lissa seemed to glare at it, and the cluster changed course as if actually conscious. "And we're _not _touching any of them. They bite."

Robin watched it glide away, turning darker as it neared the "edge". "They won't surround us, will they?"

"If they're memories, then they should only come to mind if actually, you know, remembered. I think they only turn into visions if you consciously make an effort to see them, so no one focus on any of them. I'm serious."

"Well, it's already a little better than last time." His apprehension fading, Robin quickly became bored. The off limits memories almost seemed to tug at him, and he brought his attention to Lissa to distract himself. "So what now? I get the feeling this becomes harder to remain in control of the longer it goes on."

"Right. Like I said, we're all here to show you something. If you won't take our word on the Plegians, then we'll show you. We can prove how desperate we are. How desperately we need your services. The kind of enemy we're dealing with."

"How?" Sumia asked. "I'd love to help, but this is all new to us too."

"You guys don't need to be mages to help. See, we all have shared experiences. All four of us. Robin too, if repressed memories count. The war brought us all together. It gives us something in common."

"Oh yeah." Vaike joked. "Total war. Great trust building exercise."

"Well… it _is. _The war is how we all connected. For better or worse, it has shaped our identities. It's why Robin was a tactician, you're a fighter, and I'm a war cleric." She looked back to Robin. "My point is that we all share a similar experience of fighting the Plegians, so making these memories clear shouldn't be traumatizing like when I tried to look through just Robin's memories. Plus with our minds connected like this, we can all contribute something." She placed her ethereal hands against her head and focused. The three other Ylisseans reacted as she did.

"Oof. I'm feeling something. Am I… am I feeling you, Lissa?"

"Yes, milady." Frederick inquired. "What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get us all nice and linked. Everyone think of the Plegians. Think of how we can prove to Robin they're the bad guys."

Robin glanced between the four as they fell deep in thought. "Do I have a part in this?"

"Just watch, Robin. You're about to perceive a, um, a highlight reel of sorts. Three years of war in about three minutes."

He gave a cautious smile, not sure of what to expect. "Heh, is there a test at the end?"

"I just want you to remember one thing." Lissa took advantage of her ability to control reality here through thought and willed two symbols to hover above her hands. A blue mark of Naga appeared over her right hand. "This symbol means Ylisse," A purple mark of Grima appeared over her left hand. "And this symbol means Plegia. Keep track of who does what."

"Okay." Robin responded, not taking it seriously. "I'll try."

Sumia floated over to Lissa as Robin began to see everyone else's memories, his attention now elsewhere. "What exactly are we showing him?"

"I compressed everything the four of us remembered and put it all in order."

"So you can turn thoughts into a narrative?"

"Thoughts and reality are kind of the same thing here. The magic involved is complicated, but I think I did well enough." The two noticed Robin was visibly getting into it. His face displayed genuine interest. "Right now he's seeing the beginning. My father's disappearance and Gangrel's insurgency. The seizure of Careston and the death of Captain Phila. Cordelia's temporary command and the Fall of the First Five Cities. Virion's failed counterinsurgency and Emmeryn's disappearance. Chrom's ascension to leadership and the first real Ylissean victory."

Then his face became writ with shock. "Up next is the attrition phase of the war. The loss of the Fire Emblem. Gangrel overthrowing the Plegian King. The fighting on the border. The cold war between West and East Ferox. The Little Ylisstol concentration camp. Tharja's experiments on prisoners. Campari's massacres. Orton's forced labor camps. Aversa's pogrom on Naga worshippers."

Then finally it twisted in disgust. "Now he's seeing the collapse of our lines. The retreat eastwards. The Fall of Volstintol. The Loss of Strathus. The Razing of New Viery. The Destruction of Furman Valley. The terror strikes on Ylisstol and Themis. The Infiltration Units."

"Stop! Enough! You've made your point!" Robin ran his hands through his hair as he snapped back to the present. He noticed the mark on his hand and stared sorrowfully at it. "You've made your point."

"I'm sorry, Robin." Lissa almost whispered as she got closer. "But that's how it was. That's what we've had to deal with."

"Gangrel can't be allowed to continue. He just can't." He returned Lissa's gaze with defeated eyes. "But what use am I? I don't remember what I was. I can't lead your troops anymore. I can't help this Chrom anymore. I'm not your tactician anymore!"

"But you're still our friend." She smiled. "That will never stop being true."

"We miss you, Robin." Vaike beamed. "So what if you have amnesia again? You don't have to be exactly like you were to matter."

Sumia nodded. "We want you back because you're our friend more than anything. You don't have to fight to be important to us. Isn't that right, Frederick?"

Frederick relented as she elbowed him. "I suppose that is one interpretation, yes."

"We won't make you do anything, Robin. We won't control you or force you into something you're not comfortable with. I promise we only want to help." Lissa offered her hand. "And I promise you'll never have to be alone again."

So much of Robin's situation still escaped him. His long term memories were murky. He doubted he could truly meet these high expectations, and he felt smothered in his past self's shadow. He could feel more recent memories, but they were jamming in the chamber as he struggled to focus.

But he was sure of the belonging he felt now, and he took Lissa's hand with a hopeful smile.

* * *

**Hello, readers! I haven't forgotten about this story. I can't say it's my main focus since I have a Three Houses fic going, but I'd still like to get my Awakening ideas out there. **

**I don't know how active this fic will be going forward, but I'll definitely continue if people show support, so let me know if you want it to see more. **


End file.
